Background

Since 9/11, the United States has played an increasingly aggressive, militarized, and confrontational role in the world. Invasion, occupation, drone wars, and targeted assassinations have become so ingrained in U.S. foreign policy that many cannot imagine an alternative. An entire generation of Americans has grown up thinking this behavior is normal

With the Trump Administration taking threatening steps toward Iran and Venezuela, and U.S. forces involved in dozens of conflicts around the world, it is clearer than ever that Congress must act to take back its constitutional authority over war. This authority is guaranteed in Article I of the U.S. Constitution, but for too long, Congress has ceded this power to the executive branch.

FCNL lobbies Congress to fund peacebuilding accounts such as the Complex Crises Fund, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and international peacekeeping operations. These programs are essential for preventing the outbreak of conflict, responding to instability and violence, and protecting civilian lives.

We’ve assembled articles to offer you important context and perspectives on how the AUMF has been stretched far beyond congressional intent, and ongoing efforts to end endless war.

The REAL Act (H.R.2168 /S.1074) can lift the ban that keeps the incarcerated and the formerly incarcerated from reaching their full potential.

The science is abundantly clear: climate change is human-caused, already devastating communities and habitats across the world, and will only get worse without global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is already contributing to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, sea level rise, drought, and species extinction.

General Committee members Tom Vaughan & Sandy Feutz engage in Witness at the Southern Border by photographing what goes on there. We spoke with Tom about this work.

When asked to speak to the simplicity testimony, Quaker Lloyd Lee Wilson said, “Simplicity is the name we give to our effort to free ourselves to give full attention to God’s still, small voice: the sum of our efforts to subtract from our lives everything that competes with God for our attention and clear hearing.”

Participants in FCNL’s annual Spring Lobby Weekend will urge Congress to reduce the use of and funding for immigrant detention in favor of alternatives.

The Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is one of the most efficient and effective government programs. Each year it helps 40 million Americans put food on the table. Some elected leaders are pushing extreme proposals that would radically restructure SNAP and other essential benefits, forcing many families to lose vital assistance.